Connecting device.



No. 999,999.V Patented may 9, |902.

I. LARSEN.

CONNEGTING DEVICE.

(Application led Aug. 21, 1901.)

(No Model.)

DR TERSCO UKULTUWS DTL) DC UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVERT LARSEN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ROBERT G. ARMSTRONG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CONNECTING DEVICE.

SPECIFCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 699,398, dated May 6, 1902. Application tiled August 2l, 1901. Serial No. 72.745. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.:

Be it known that I, IvERT LARsEN, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Connecting Devices; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improved connecting device for detachablyconnectng two separable parts end to end. The device is herein shown as applied to join the two ends of a divided breast-strap for horse-harness used as a part of tire-department equipment and intended for the light harness of a chiefs or other oftlcers wagon or buggy, and the device is constructed to permit the two parts of the strap to be quickly joined or connected when placing the harness on thehorse, as is necessary in such equipment.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth, and more particularly pointed ont in the appended claims.

Figure l is a perspective view of a fragment of a harness breast-strap, showing my improved connecting device applied to connect the same. Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly broken away', of one of the interlocking members of the connecting device and the end ot' the strap to which it is attached. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the other interlocking member of the device and its associated end of the strap. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken through the connecting device and the strap, showing the parts of the device in their interlocked positions. Fig. 5 is a cross-section taken on line 5 5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of a modified form of attaching devices and the parts of the strap to which they are attached. Fig. 7' is a similar view of a further modification.

As shown in the drawings, A A designate two parts of a divided-breast-strap adapted to be joined by my improved connecting device.

B B designate as a whole the two interlocking parts or members of the device. One of said members is provided with a loop which extends beyond the part of the strap to which it is attached, and the other member is provided with a locking-plate, which is adapted to laterally enter theloop of the other member and is formed at its outer margin to have bearing engagement with the outer end or part of the loop and at its inner margin with a projection adapted to detachably interlock with a projection carried by the other member, one of said projections being movable and spring-pressed to permit said members to be locked and unlocked, said projections when in their interlocked positions preventing detachment of the parts of the strap and holding them'firmly together. The yielding locking projection may be made a part of either of the interlocking members. In Figs. l to 6 the said yielding projection is made a part of the looped member, while in Fig. 7 it forms a part of the locking-plate member.

First referring to the construction shown in Figs. l to 5, inclusive, B designates the `locking-plate, and C .designates as a wholeV the loop which said plate enters and with which it interlocks. The loop consists of two side members c c and a transverse end member c', which is rounded or eylindric. The locking-plate is provided with a base or flange B', by which it is attached to the strap, and the loop is formed on a plate C', said parts B C being attached to the ends of the strap by rivets `or like fastening means and are flush at their adjacent ends with the inner ends of the strap. The loop projects outwardly beyond the end of the strap to which it is attached, and the locking-plate is adapted to laterally enter said loop from the inner side thereof, or the side toward the strap.

The inner margin of the plate B is provided with an angularnotch,formin g thereon a locking projection which forms la locking-shoulder b, which faces inward or toward the strap and is adapted for interlocking engagement with a projection on the other member of the device. The opposite or outer margin of said plate is provided with a rearwardly-opening curved notch or recess bf, adapted to it over and have bearing engagement with the end portion o of the loop. Said notch forms at the extreme end of the plate a prongbe.

The

. interlocking projection of" thelo'op C, which engages the shoulder'rb, is formed on the inner rend of an endwise-reciprocatory bolt D,which projects at its inner'end into the loop and is contained in. abarrel or tubular casing C2,

formed integral with 'the plate C'andoloop C. Dl A,designates a spiral spring which isinterposed between the outer end of said bolt and the closed'endof thebarrel, and saidspring D tends to hold the innerend of the bolt projected into the loop. rThe in'nerend of said bolt isprovided `with a projecting'tooth d, Fig. 2, having an outwardly-facingbearing- 'surface, which is' adapted to engage the gagernent. 5v

-the other side of the barrel.

are in theirlockedpositions,- with the shoul- ,der b engaged by the end ofr the plunger, as

shoulderb when the parts are locked together in the manner shown Ain Fig.` 4t.k f

When the parts are to be loc'ked together( the prong b2 'of the locking-plate is 'inserted ,laterally into the loop from the' inner side thereof, with the curved notch b/ of saidplate engaging the rounded end of the loop. The parts are'brought into their interlooked positions -by turning or rotating one part with respect to the other, the end c of the loop constituting a pivot about which the lockingplate is turned. The end face of the bolt D is by this movement carried over the end `face of the plate B until it is brought past the shoulder b of said plate,when said plunger backwardly until the tooth passes the shoulder on the plate. In order to retract said plunger D to release the same from the shoulder of the locking-plate, said plunger is pro- 1'vided with ay transverse actuating-pin D2,

which is extended downwardly thro ugh a slot dzrin the barrel in position for manual en- Desirably said actuating-pin also extends through and Vbeyond the other side of the plunger and engages a guide-slot d3 in When the parts seen in Fig. 4, the engagement of the bolt with Athe shoulder preventsmovement in a direction to detach or unlock the parts. Moreover, said curved notch b" fits closely against the rounded part c of the loop, so that when the parts are locked the said notch ZJ by its engagement with the said part c holds the extremity of the loop from/'inward or outward movement on the plate; It will'benote'd that when the parts are in their interlocked position, as shown in Fig. 4,'the' margins of lthe curved notch b fit closely against the rounded outer end c' of the loop on approximately ceases one-half 4its circumference andthat the ends of theplateUand fiange'B abut against each other. The engagement of the shoulder b with the plunger and of the'inner margin ot' the notch b of the locking-platewith the rounded end c' of the loop prevents movement of the members in a direction to unlock the same, andthe abutting engagement of the ends of theplate C and i'langeB with each other and of the outer half of the margin of the notch b withv the outer rounded part of the loop prevents movement of said members in an opposite direction to carry the same past their locking positions. Said members when interlocked, therefore, are firmly supported against lateral or horizontal movement tending to cause displacement orrattling of the parts. The locking-plate isY made of such Ywidth as to entirely fill the loop and have contact with both side margins thereof, and

this construction, together with the abutting relation of the plate and flange C B, prevents vertical flexure of the strap, so that there is no tendency of the strap to sag at the line of junction thereof.

In the construction shown in" Figs. I to 5, inclusive, it will be noted that the loop projects obliquely outwardly or away from the strap, the purpose of this arrangement being to facilitate the entrance of a drilling-tool to form the bore of the barrel D; j This arrangement of the loop locates the outer end thereof' such distance from the attaching plate and flange of the members that the abutting margins of said plate and flange constitute stops, which prevent the members being moved past their locking positions in the the manner above stated, this result being due to the angular relation of the outer end "of the loop with respect to the line of junction 'of the plate and iiange.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a construction wherein the loop is approximately parallel with the attaching plate and iiange of the members and in which the bore ot' the barrel is originally made open at its outer end, so that the drilling-tool which forms the bore ofthe barrel is inserted into the end of the barrel remote from the loop. In said construction, F designates the loop; F, its attaching-plate; Gr, a bolt located Ain a barrel F3, formed integral with the loop and attaching-plate, and

'G aspring yinterposed between the closed end'of the barrel and the Vouter end of the bolt. 'The loop is made substantially like the IOO IIO

loop C, before described, with the exception f that it is located in substantial alinement with the barrel F2. The arms ofthe lo'op are connected by a transverse rounded-end memberlf,asbefore. II designatesa locking-plate which enters said'loop laterally from the inside thereof and isv attached tothe strap by a flange II and is provided at its outer mar- 'gin with a rearwardly-opening notch 7L, which lits over the rounded end ofthe loop, and at its inner margin with a shoulder 7L', adapted for interlocking engagement with a tooth g ceases on the inner end of the bolt. As before stated the bore of the barrel G is drilled from the outer end thereof, and said outer end of the barrel is closed by a screw-plug G2, which constitutes the closed end of the barrel. The inner margins of the side arms of the loop F bear against the outer face of the lockingplate flange, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. G, and constitute a lock to prevent the members swinging past theirlocking positions, the abutting relation of the plate and fiange F H', respectively, of said members not being depended upon to hold the parts rigidly in alinement, as in the construction before described.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a modification wherein the yielding locking projection or the bolt is mounted in the locking-plate member. In said figure, I designates the loop having the rounded outer end and attached to or formed on an attaching-plate I', which is thickened to give strength thereto. Said loop projects obliquely away from its attaching-plate, as in the construction first described. .I designates a locking-plate provided with an attaching-ange J Formed on said ange J and between the strap and locking-plate is a barrel J 2, containing a bolt J 3, which extends at its inside or beyond the inner margin of the locking-plate and is provided at its inner end with a tooth j. The plate I is provided inside the loop with a shoulder il', which is adapted to be engaged by the tooth on theW inner end of the bolt. The locking-plate J is provided with a rearwardly-opening curved notch or recess j', which engages the rounded end t of the loop in the same manner as in the previously-described construction. The inner end of the bolt J s is beveled or made oblique on the advance side thereof or that which strikes the plateJ when entering the loop, so as to effect the retraction of the bolt past the edge of the Vplate I when the locking-plate is swung into place. The bolt is held in its outermost position bymeans of a spiral spring J4, interposed between the closed end of the barrel and the outer end of the plunger andis adaptedto be retracted to release the plunger `from the projection 1l by means of a transverse pin J 5, which passes outwardly through a slot in the wall of the barrel. In this construction the` abutting ends of the members constitute stops 4to prevent the swinging of said members pasttheir locking positions in the general manner of the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive.

The manner of using both of the forms shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is obviously the same as thatof the construction first described and need not again be stated. e

It is obviousthat changes may be made in the structural details illustrated without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to such details excepting as hereinafter made the subject of specific claims. It Vis furthermore obvious that the device described may be applied to various uses for rigidly joining or connecting parts in the general manner set forth.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with two interlocking members one embracinga loop and the other a locking-plate, said plate being provided on its-outer margin with a rearwardly-opening notch adapted to engage the end of said loop and at its inner margin with a projection which is adapted to be interlocked with a projection carried by the other member, one of the said projections being spring-pressed, to .permit said members to be locked and unlocked.

2. The combination with two interlocking members one embracing a loop and the other a locking-plate, said plate being provided on its outer margin with a rearwardly-opening notch adapted to engage the end of said loop and at itsv inner margin with a projection which is adapted to be iuterlocked with a projection carried by the other member, one of t said projections being spring-pressed to 4permit said members to be locked and unlocked, said members having abutting parts which arebrought into contact When said members are locked to prevent said members being moved to past their locking positions.

3. The combination with two interlocking.

members one embracing a loop and the other a locking-plate adapted to enter said loop,

said locking-plate being made of such width as to engage both side members ofthe loop, said plate being provided at `itsouter margin with a rearwardly-opening notch which engages the end of the loop and at its inner margin with a projection which is adapted for interlocking engagement with a projection carried by the other member, one of said projections being. spring-pressed topermit said members to be locked and unlocked.

4. The combination with two interlocking members one embracing a loop and theother a lockingplate adapted to enter said loop, said locking-plate being made of suchwidth as to engage both side members of the loop, said locking-plate being provided on itsouter margin with a rearwardly opening lnotch which engages the outer end of the ,loop and on its inner margin with a projection adapted :for interlocking engagement with a proj ec'tion` carried by the other member, one of saidinterlocking parts beingspring-pressed to permit the members to be locked and unlocked, and parts on said members lwhichare in `contact when said members are locked to prevent said members being moved beyond their locking positions. e

5. The combination with two interlocking members one embracing a loop and the other a locking-plate adapted to entersaid loop, j,

said plate being provided on its outermargin with a rearwardly-opening notch adapted to engage the end of the loop, one of said parts being provided with a barrel Ain alinement therewith, an endwise-reciprocating plunger sliding in said barrel, and a spring interposed between the outer end of said plunger and the IIO IIS

end of the barrel, and the other part being provided with a shoulder adapted for interlocking engagement with the plunger.

6. The combination with two interlocking members one embracing a loop and the other a locking-plate adapted to enter said loop, Said plate being provided on its outer margin with a rearwardly-opening notch adapted to engage the end of the loop, one of said parts being provided with a barrel, an endWise-reciprocating spring-pressed plunger in said barrel and a spring interposed between t-he outer end of said plunger and the end of the barrel, and the other part being provided with a shoulder adapted to have interlocking engagement with the plunger, and means for moving said plunger endwise .comprising a pin which enters a transverse aperture in said plunger and extends outwardly through z'o a slot in the Wall of the barrel.

7. The combination with two interlocking members one embracing a loop and the other a locking-plate, said plate being provided in its outer margin with a rearwardly-opening notch which engages the outer end of the loop, and a spring-pressed plunger on the loop member the inner end of which enters said loop, said locking-plate being provided on its inner margin with a shoulder adapted to engage the plunger to hold the members in their locked positions.

Inl testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I alx my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 17th day of August, A. D. 1901.

IVERT LARSEN.

\Viinesses:

C. CLARENCE PooLE, TILLIAM L. HALL. 

